Is Ronnie Fieg the Most Important Figure in NYC Sneaker Culture? Plus: An Exclusive First Look at the New Kith NYC

Ronnie Fieg is a polarizing figure in the world of sneakers. Some sneakerheads respect, even worship him as the guy who made Asics running shoes (yeah, those Asics) downright covetable back in 2007 with a one-off collaboration that questioned the "Jordan, Nike, and Adidas or nothing" mentality of the time. Ultimately, the collab grew into a fruitful relationship that is still ongoing today. Others think his cult status is completely unwarranted. It's not hard to be skeptical. Most of Ronnie's early design collaborations consisted of him simply changing the materials and colors of already well-known sneakers. But Fieg himself is the first to admit that his early collabs aren't his best—and he prefers it that way, as he's always learning and striving to get better.

While sneakerheads debate his status as either genius or hack, Fieg has been busy building a miniature streetwear empire. Before making a splash with those Asics, Fieg cut his teeth working at the NYC footwear retail giant David Z, which gave him experience and a window into what kind of kicks guys really want. In 2011, he opened his own store called "Kith," a name that's derived from the phrase "kith and kin," meaning "friends and family." Today, Kith is essential to sneaker culture in New York, a haven for 'heads looking for the most desirable kicks released each season. That includes those made by Ronnie himself as well as exclusive styles and color ways from labels including Nike, Adidas, Buscemi, Sebago, Caminando, Timberland, and more.

But Ronnie's hustle no longer stops at a person's feet. His forays into apparel began much the same way his sneaker designs did—via collaborative projects with brands like Golden Bear and Stampd—but in 2012, Kith launched an in-house line of apparel to stand on its own. The aesthetic of the garments is casual across the board, the perfect pairing for Ronnie's footwear. From the "Mercer" chino pants with the ribbed cuffs (excellent for showing off your new kicks) to the capsule collections that riff on the colorways in Fieg's latest sneaker releases, it's clear that Ronnie is now articulating a head-to-toe vision for how his fans and customers should dress.

On Saturday, Kith Manhattan will expand into a space three times the size of the current store, designed by Daniel Arsham and his firm Snarkitecture. You won't be shocked to find out that the opening of the new space will be celebrated by—what else?—the release of Fieg's latest sneaker collaboration: an Adidas EQT 93 Support done up in an NYPD-inspired colorway as Ronnie's way to remember the victims of 9/11. Here, we talk to Fieg about Kith 2.0, his expansion into apparel, and the death of the notion of "limited" sneakers.

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What made you want to expand Kith into this much larger space?

Kith started off as primarily footwear, and throughout the first two years—we've been open for three and a half years—we expanded into a few pieces of apparel. It started with the Mercer pant, and since then it's grown fast. I don't feel like the smaller space is big enough to tell enough of a story and be merchandised correctly. The bigger space is 3,000 square feet, in addition to the 1,000 square feet we have now. It's really my vision for what New York City needs. I don't feel like there are enough of these men's shops where guys can shop all types of goods, from footwear to apparel to accessories. Where do guys shop today? They shop Barneys, they shop Bergdorfs, and they shop Odin. But I wanted to create a store that encapsulates their closet perfectly, and tells the type of story Kith is going to tell.

How did you get to know Snarkitecture, and why did you think they were the right people to design your new store?

Daniel Arsham is a genius in many ways. He's a very unique and successful artist. He has a lot more talent than people give him credit for, even though people already give him a lot of credit. I feel like Snarkitecture is an architecture firm that people will hear a lot about over the next few years. We've been working on this for a very long time, honestly, I can't even remember when we first started working on this. But we worked on every little detail in the shop. I think we've created a space and an experience that no one has seen before.

What are the experiences and installations you're most excited for people to see?

Mostly, I'm excited for the style of merchandising and the way product is displayed. I think there's a lot of firsts here. I'm very excited for the two art installations in the shop, one of which is called "The Pencil Wall," and the other people are just going to need to come and see.

Obviously a big part of the Kith brand is the limited edition sneakers, but in what other ways are you currently expanding the business?

Well, what we're doing will not affect what we've been doing. I think the two parts of the business—the sneakers and the apparel—will run parallel. Sneakers in general are the anchor of our business, and are something we will always do, but we're introducing a lot of new products with the apparel. But I'm a sneaker guy first and foremost. My love for footwear hasn't changed, in fact, it's only grown. The more we work on footwear, the better it gets, and we provide people with something different they won't find anywhere else in the city.

In general, how do you feel about the limited-edition methods that not only you, but Nike, Jordan, Adidas and other big brands use to create hype for releases?

I think that what's happened as the internet becomes a more vital part of the footwear business in general, is that the consumer has gotten more knowledgeable. To me, the word "limited" doesn't mean anything anymore. In my opinion, it's always about supplying the right amount of product where the product is different—because if you supply too many then it's no longer unique—but for us, the word "limited" is just about being different. Even the motto of Kith is "just us," and we believe that what we sell is special. But "limited" can't just be a word brands use to sell products. There needs to be some credibility behind it.

You've collaborated with New Balance, Asics, Timberland and more over the years, but what's one style you haven't worked on that you would love to?

Up until now, what most people have seen from me has been a takedown of a certain model, with my twist on the color and fabrication of that model. But recently, I've been working on my own uppers and my own designs, which is something I've been doing with Sebago for three years. Going forward, you'll see a bunch of that type of thing. I want to create products people don't know they want yet. Just in the materials I use, and the way I colorblock shoes, those will help differentiate my products from the rest. Even the brands we at Kith collaborate with help separate us. We work with smaller brands like Sebago, Danner, Buscemi, Caminando, so we can be leaders of the sort of alternative footwear market, not just for the kid wearing athletic shoes, but fashion shoes which have become increasingly important.

What are the key pieces from the Kith apparel collection you think would be good additions to any man's wardrobe?

This season, people are going to see things from Kith that they haven't seen before from any American brand. We just collaborated with Ones Stroke on some pieces coming out on October 18. The collection will be a higher pricepoint, but it's all made by hand in Japan, and it's very, very strong. But there are elements in each collection we do that will have the common denominator of fit. Fit is the most important aspect of a garment in my opinion. If the fit of your pants changes, it changes the whole look of your outfit. We go through rounds and rounds of fits, and now I think we have perfected our bottoms.

Honestly, I think we will have the best pants in the industry, regardless of pricepoint. Whether it's our Mercer, our Bleecker, our Meecker, or the denim we've done with Ones Stroke, you'll see the same kind of fit that is the new classic and the new necessity for the guy that is just trying to look good and look fitted. On our new sweatpants, in comparison to the old ones, we added knee panels not because of the whole 'moto' trend, but because the knees on sweatpants stretch. If you want the pant to stay fitted throughout the life of the pant, you need the knee panels. We added a lot of other details too, like changing up the ribbing at the bottom of the pant to get rid of "muffin top" effect, the logo placement, the zippers, and we've created what I think is just a very, very good sweatpant. The Mercer fit has completely changed, really, to go back to the fit we did with our Blue Label collection.

What's the pricepoint on everything?

The Mercer pant is $120, and the Bleecker is $115. But for me, it's always about giving people more than what they paid for. Luckily we are in the position of working with a lot of amazing factories, so we have a lot of quality control. But for me, giving people more value than what they pay for is how I think you can build loyalty with customers. That also includes making products that are timeless. The approach that I took with this new apparel really has to do with building a classic fit and a classic look.

How does it feel being known as "The Guy That Made Asics Cool?"

When I had Asics as a kid, it was because my mom couldn't afford to buy me Reebok Pumps. So I was wearing Gel Lyte IIIs in the early '90s. I hated them at first, but I learned to love them. Bringing back that brand was more a nostalgic thing than anything else. In 2006, I started working on a project with them, and in 2007 it released. Since then, we've been building the brand very strategically. It's worked because it's been a very organic growth. No one else was working on the product because no one else really believed in it, and it gave me the opportunity to be really the only one working on the product for basically four years. I was able to tell a story and not worry about anyone interfering with that. But, yeah, I'm okay with that description, because I worked really hard, and I have such a close relationship with that brand. I mean, if you asked me, "What do you want to be known for?" I think it's yet to come. I think running this business is harder than anything I've done on the product side. I'm not sure people realize how hard it is to run a store like this and to keep New York on its toes when it comes to footwear and apparel. I think the new store opening will start to define me as—

A storeowner?

A storeowner, yes, but I want to be known as somebody who is really there to shift the culture. What's important to me is a building a legacy and a dynasty. It's hard, and I know the business is young, but our team has grown significantly. We're thirty-eight people now, while two years ago it was me in a tiny office in a portion of the stockroom.

Now that you have the credibility as a guy who can create hype, do you feel extra pressure to make each release better than the last? How about pressure to have kids line up?

I feel like the pressure for kids to line up has never been a factor. It's always about having a product that is better than anything else in the marketplace and that is the best thing that I can create. When I create product, it's not just about me and my taste, it's about what I feel the people will want from me. And obviously my taste has changed from when I first started, but that's reflected in the product. That said, the products have to be a timeline of my life. So nowadays you're seeing products that I've worked on with Dover Street Market, and that sneaker is super minimal, but it's a shoe that will live in my closet forever. Those are the types of products I'm trying to produce no matter what it is I'm working on. It's the same mentality I have when I'm working on apparel. When people look back at what I've done in my '20s, my '30s, my '40s, I want it to represent my life at that time. I will ask myself, "Did those products represent the best in the marketplace?" That's the goal with everything I touch.

Do you feel that everything you've made so far in your career is timeless? It seems like this "timeless" mentality is a relatively new thing for you.

It has not always been this way. I used to only make shoes I wanted for myself, and that was reflected in my work at the time. But I realize now I don't like those shoes and I don't wear those shoes anymore. I don't even like my old projects.

I have a responsibility now to give people stuff that isn't just what I like, but is something that they can wear and feel different wearing. My nephew is now wearing my stuff, so I have to worry about how my nephew is going to look wearing it at school. Will he look different and amazing to the point that people are asking him what the products are, or will he look ridiculous because the shoe is too crazy? But, also, my mom wears it in her dance class, and her friends ask her about the T-shirts and sweatpants she wears, which I never would have thought was even possible before. So now my products need to cater to a very wide age range. I need to offer different types of products to different kinds of people. But I also know I'm never going to satisfy everyone, so I can't give in too much to what people like at that moment because like I said, I need the product to exceed the time in which they were made.

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